IMTS and the materials revolution

From pickups with aluminum body panels to goods trailers with carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) walls to off-highway machinery with high-tech bronze bearing systems, motor vehicle producers are exploring alternatives to steel.

A European group, the Federation for Reinforced Plastics, predicts that CFRP demand in the auto industry will skyrocket from about 5,000 tons next year to 23,000 tons by 2020. A survey of automakers conducted for the Aluminum Association predicts that 75% of cars will have aluminum body panels by 2025.

The steel industry is responding with new, tougher alloys that have competitive weight-to-toughness ratios with more exotic materials while keeping costs relatively low.

Ask any materials company representative – a polycarbonate plastics producer, titanium supplier, hot-rolled steel manufacturer – and he’ll tell you that his company’s products can serve 100% of the needs of the motor vehicle industry’s push to lower weights.

For the companies making parts and tools for the industry, that range of new materials can be extremely daunting. Whether it’s high-strength steel or titanium alloys, most of these materials have one thing in common – they tend to be really tough to cut and form.

The materials revolution taking place within the auto world is going to force many suppliers – from massive corporations to the small job shops – to invest in new equipment. Machines that cut thousands of steel components might not work in aluminum or CFRP.

In some cases, companies will be able to keep their existing machining centers, possibly upgrading only their software or tooling. Shops that have been nursing older equipment might have to consider all-new machines or content themselves with producing lower-value, commodity parts.

This year’s International Manufacturing Technology Show – IMTS 2014, should give shop floor managers a good sense of what investments the ongoing materials conversion in the motor vehicle world will mean to them. With nearly 2,000 exhibitors showing off their latest equipment, experts will abound to answer questions. In addition, conferences set up by TMV’s parent company, GIE Media, will offer more details.

Is 3D printing a realistic solution to your production challenges? How should you program new cutting inserts for higher-strength steels? Running from Sept. 8 through Sept. 11 at McCormick Place in Chicago, 69 conferences will cover topics under the general headings of – alternative manufacturing process, plant operations, process innovations, quality/metrology, and systems integration.

And if you’re not able to get out to Chicago for the show, come back to our website, www.TodaysMotorVehicles.com, for updates from the show floor.
 

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